


The Christmas Gifts

by Earth_Phoenix



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 07:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16697806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earth_Phoenix/pseuds/Earth_Phoenix
Summary: Harry goes back in time to do one random act of kindness.





	The Christmas Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to wonderful Copper for Beta'ing this!

Wool’s orphanage was as bleak as Harry remembered from Dumbledore’s memories. When Harry had knocked on the door and asked for Mrs. Cole, a young mousy haired blonde girl had looked at him suspiciously. 

Harry could only assume that people who asked for Mrs. Cole usually had a not great reason to do so.

The woman in question, however, welcomed him with open arms. It helped that he had brought her a bottle of spiced wine, with seasons greatings, of course.

Harry wasn’t sure what made him do it. It was risky and absured with the potential to backfire spectacularly, but still, here he was. It was the Christmas before Tom Riddle turned eleven. The year ahead would change the course of his life forever.  In a few months, Albus Dumbledore would turn up and tell a young Tom that he was special and that a whole society awaited him in secret. A society that would look down on him for being in Slytherin, and then for his shabby clothes. An orphan, growing up in a muggle orphanage.

This moment was on the cusp of change and Harry couldn’t help but want to do something. Nothing big or timeline shattering, just one small act of kindness. A kindness that, for this child, may linger in the depths of his soul.

Mrs. Cole brought Harry into the small office he had seen all those years ago. Harry sat in the chair that would one day occupy a far greater wizard than he.

“How can we help you, Father?”

“As you are aware, the church likes to do what it can to help the poor children during this, our most giving time of year, and this year the local community has given what they can so that the children can have some presents.”

She looked at him with sharp eyes. “I see.”

“And of course, the generosity extends to the caregivers of these children - without you, there would have no one to watch over them.”

“True enough, it’s not easy lookin’ after all these children, Father.”

The door opened then, and the girl with mousy blonde hair from earlier, stood in the doorway, pulling along a young boy with dark black hair and dark eyes.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Cole, but Tom here,” she shook the boy’s arm and he scowled at her, “Just bit little Jessica on the arm, saw it with my own eyes and all.”

“It wasn’t me!” Tom pulled his arm away from the girl and stamped his foot angrily. “Everyone blames me for everything.” He pouted and Harry fought back a smile. The baby dark lord was cute. 

Tom spied the large bag at Harry’s feet, his eyes flicking up to the white collar that marked him as a priest. Tom allowed his eyes to go big and Harry had to admire how, even at ten, Tom could adapt to manipulate anyone.

“Are you Santa?” Tom inquired. Harry chuckled.

“No, Tom Riddle,” he winked, “I am Father Porter, but I do know a lot about you and the other children here at the orphanage.”

“You know my name,” Tom eyed him warily. “I’m not crazy.”

Harry smiled at the boy, “I know you’re not. You are a bright young man.”  Tom glowed at the compliment.

“May I hand out the presents while-,” Harry gestured to Tom and the blonde girl still standing in the doorway.

“Oh yes, of course, Father. Please, go right ahead.”

~*~

 

The gift-giving tugged at Harry’s heartstrings. The way the children accepted the gifts with tears of joy reminded him of the first time he ever received a real Christmas present that wasn’t a broken something-or-other that had once been Dudley’s - mouldy food or the odd penny. No, his first Christmas had been at Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley, practically his second mum, had made him a Weasley jumper. 

The fact that someone had taken the time to knit him something so personal and heartfelt had touched him. Harry still owned that very first jumper. It lived in his closet, a preservation charm on it, keeping it looking as bright and warm as it did that very first Christmas.

He reached Tom’s room last, knocking gently on the door. After a moment or two, an upset looking Tom opened the door, scrubbing at his eyes with the sleeve of his t-shirt.

“May I?” Harry asked. Tom nodded, turning away and walking over to sit back on his bed.

Harry closed the door, throwing up privacy spells so he wouldn’t be overheard.

“How are you doing, Tom?” He asked. Tom shrugged and Harry understood.

It was never easy being blamed for things you didn’t do, didn’t know you were doing, or had no control over doing. Like the time he turned his teacher’s hair blue. He hadn’t meant to do it, but everyone blamed the ‘freaky’ Potter boy and Vernon had locked him in his cupboard for a week.

Harry sat in the only chair in the room, reminding himself once more of an action his future mentor would take soon, and opened his bag of presents.

“I have some special presents for you, Tom. You have to promise to take very special care of them, OK?”

Tom nodded, the corners of his mouth still tugging downwards. Harry sighed and hoped this would be enough to help Tom in some small way.

“The first thing I have for you are these,” He pulled out a brightly wrapped bundle of something squishy and handed the parcel to Tom.

Tom hopped off the bed and took the parcel carefully. He placed it on the bed and poked at it. When nothing bad happened, he tugged on the bright red ribbon and gasped.

Inside the wrapping was a hand knitted green jumper with a silver snake in the middle. Along with the jumper was a matching crocheted blanket. The boy turned to look at Harry with something akin to wonder in his eyes.

Tom opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words could escape.

“It’s fine, I felt the same way when I was a small boy,” he smiled and pulled out the second gift.

Tom took this one more willingly and placed it once more upon the bed before opening it. A collection of brightly-coloured books spilled out into the bed and Tom gasped delightedly. A golden book on family heirlooms caught Tom’s eye first and he flicked the pages rapidly. A small green book on snakes and how to care for them caught the boy’s eye next.

“I’ve always wanted a pet snake but -,”

“- Sometimes you get what you wish for.” Harry interrupted gently.

The final gift was placed in a young dark lord’s outstretched hands, a tiny black and gold Ball Python, which gazed up at Tom with some curiosity.

“I’ve spoken to Mrs. Cole and she says you can keep her, as long as she stays in your room and you don’t scare anyone with her, alright? I have enough food to last you a good long while. Do you promise to be good?”

“Y-yes,” Tom breathed, his eyes filled with excitement. He brought the snake up to eye level.

“Hello,” he said.

The snake cocked her head. “ **_Hello,_ ** ” she said replied.

Harry placed the bags of food on Tom’s desk and slipped quietly out of the room as the boy fell to his knees and began speaking to his new friend with wonder.

~*~

 

Voldemort walked past the cells, hands clasped behind his back, Nagini curled around his shoulders. He wasn’t a good man, Merlin knew that. He was short tempered and cruel. However, one night a year he could be a little kind. 

He stopped in front of cell holding a small child. The child wasn’t crying, though its eyes were red-rimmed and runny nosed. The child looked to be around the same age he was when the strange fake priest had come to visit all those years ago.

With a flick of his wand, the door opened. “The child goes free,” he said loud enough for the Death Eaters guarding the cells to hear. “If he doesn’t I  _ will _ know about it and you  _ will _ pay.”

~*~

 

Much later he sat in his room, watching as the snow gently fell outside. It was rare that it actually snowed on Christmas Eve, and it gave him a secret childish glee to see it snow. He would never admit to it, of course; he had a reputation to uphold.

In the privacy of his room, he could encase himself in the warmth his green and silver blanket placed around his shoulders. The jumper was wrapped up in tissue paper in the bottom drawer of his elegant white chest of drawers.

Sitting atop of the chest was a framed picture of himself in his third year of Hogwarts. One of the few that existed, taken by Abraxas Malfoy. Wrapped around his shoulders, in much the same way Nagini loved to do, was Balthazar, the beautiful brown and gold python, his first and most loved friend.

Christmas for the Dark Lord has usually been miserable, but one year he had been given a Christmas to remember.


End file.
